Flood damage estimates coming as FEMA tours Minnesota

Quinn Kruse, 13, dips her feet in the Mississippi River on a flooded walkway at Levee Park in Hastings. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

The floodwaters are finally receding, and now the math begins.

Federal emergency management officials will begin their statewide tour of Minnesota's rain-saturated landscape Tuesday, the first step in a preliminary assessment of flood damage.

To qualify for federal disaster relief, the state must be able to prove $7.3 million in damages, mostly to public infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Cleanup costs, including the cost of removing tons of silt from St. Paul parks and roads, will be factored in.

So will overtime costs for emergency personnel, and the general impact on community budgets. Then there's the cost of accessing critical facilities such as utilities, hospitals, schools and fire and police departments.

The sign welcoming visitors to the Harriet Island west parking lot is partially submerged by the Mississippi on Saturday, June 28, 2014. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

"The first threshold is the state," said Sara Thatcher, a Ramsey County spokeswoman. "Once the state qualifies, all 87 counties can apply."

FEMA officials met Monday with their state counterparts in St. Paul to organize their damage assessment, which begins Tuesday in Rock, Nobles and Jackson counties in southwestern Minnesota. They're expected to be in St. Paul on July 10-11.

"We came in from all over the United States," said Charles Kohler, a FEMA spokesman. "We're here to support the state and give all the assistance that we can."

Thatcher said that if President Barack Obama declares Minnesota eligible for aid, Ramsey County will have to prove $1.7 million in damages to qualify for federal reimbursement. She said St.

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Paul, which suffered its seventh-worst flood on record, will probably reach that figure alone.

"Our hardest-hit places are the 16 miles of riverfront in St. Paul, including Harriet Island," Thatcher said. "Shepard Road has been underwater for several days. The water treatment plant is surrounded by water. ... Water Street by Lilydale Park is underwater as well."

The Mississippi River is expected to fall below major flood stage in St. Paul by Wednesday, but city officials said it could be days or weeks before roads, parks and trails can be reopened. The river crested Thursday at more than 6 feet above flood stage.

First, flood-damaged areas must be inspected to ensure they are stable. They then must dry out to the point they can accommodate heavy equipment. And cleanup and repair can be lengthy.

"Recovery is kind of that area of the iceberg that's below the water," said Rick Larkin, St. Paul's emergency management director. "It doesn't necessarily make the news, but it's the longest period, and it's the most frustrating."

After flooding from winter snowmelt in 2011, St. Paul needed about a month to reopen its parks. And this year's rain-fed flooding has been worse, Larkin said.

"It's a different scenario," he said. "In 2011, we had record snowfall, and then spring melt. This time, we had record June rains and successive rainfall events. We've got a lot more sediment and silt that we're expecting to be in the water, and the water rose higher, faster."

One of the biggest challenges might be silt removal. This year's flooding occurred outside of normal flood season, and "the river is carrying 30 times as much silt as a normal flood," Thatcher said. "That means that the cleanup will be pretty messy."

Kari Spreeman, a St. Paul public works spokeswoman, said the silt can't be put back into rivers and must be hauled to a landfill.

Public infrastructure in suburban Ramsey County hasn't suffered as much flood damage, but it hasn't been immune to rising water, either.

"In terms of suburban Ramsey County, we've been pretty lucky," Thatcher said. "County Road B in Maplewood was underwater (for a week) and had to be closed. It reopened on Friday."

In North St. Paul, rainwater caused the sanitary sewer system to overflow, raising concern about possible contamination at Lake Gervais about 10 days ago. Testing allayed those fears.

"There wasn't any contamination that would rise to a level of concern, so that swimming beach reopened," Thatcher said.

The Metropolitan Council's wastewater treatment plant in St. Paul remained surrounded by water Monday. The plant, located southeast of downtown off Childs Road, is protected by a levee.

Raya Zimmerman contributed to this report. Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.